How to Recycle PP (Plastic #5)

An Overview on Recycling Plastic #5

If you need a plastic that can take the heat, it’ll likely be polypropylene plastics (PP for short). With a high melting point, PP plastics are also great at preventing moisture transmission and are virtually inert in the face of things like acids and solvents. As such, you’ll find them used for food containers, medical tools, and automotive parts. Though perhaps less common than PETE or HDPE plastics, knowing how to recycle these PP plastics is no less important.

Environmental facts about plastic #5

As with any plastic, there are environmental hazards related to both the manufacturing and disposal of products made with PP plastics:

Aliases: Goes by polypropylene or PP.

Consumption rates: PP plastics in the US make up 2.1% of the plastic bottle market, making it the second most common type used for bottles (behind PET plastics).[1] In the UK, PP plastics make up the second largest portion of the plastics manufacturing market.[2]

Pollution: When PP plastic is heated, it can form chemicals with unknown toxicity similar to BHT and BHA, raising concerns about pollution and human health.[3]

What is PP plastic and where will you find it in your home?

Though not quite as widely used in everyday life as HDPE or LDPE plastics, plastic #5 can be found in many hidden products used in many regular routines:

Automotive parts

Bottle caps

Carpeting

Food containers - yogurt, deli foods, margarine, ketchup, syrup

Medicine bottles and containers

Microwaveable meal trays

What plastic #5 products are recycled in to

What to know what plastic #5 becomes after it’s recycled? Here’s a list of just a few of the products that are made from recycled PP plastic:

Auto parts - battery cases, signal lights, battery cables

Bike racks

Brooms and brushes

Film sheeting

Garden rakes

Ice scrapers

Plastic trays

Shipping containers and pallets

Storage bins

Tips for PP recycling

Curbside recycling: While recycling plastic #5 hasn’t been traditionally part of curbside programs, more and more community recyclers are not making it possible for you to recycle these types of plastic. Check with yours to see whether this convenient solution will be available to you.

Mail in and drop off programs: Both Preserve and Aveda have mail-in and drop-off programs for recycling plastic #5 which are particularly useful for those hard-to-recycle bottle caps and yogurt containers. Check out our recycling database for how to take part in those programs.